Retired News-Leader editor Linda Leicht joins Ozarks Food Harvest
Linda Leicht has covered The Food Bank since its beginning years
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— After 16 years at the News-Leader, and 36 years as a journalist, Linda Leicht announced she was retiring from journalism last month and beginning a new career at the regional food bank.
A former board member of Ozarks Food Harvest, Leicht is now the community impact specialist in the agency and programs department at OFH, which services more than 200 partner pantries and programs across 28 counties.
“Linda has a unique understanding of nonprofits in southwest Missouri from her years of covering the nonprofit community, ” said OFH President/CEO Bart Brown. “She brings a fantastic skill set and a wealth of experience that translates very well to this important new focus of our mission.”
Leicht’s focus is to develop community connections among existing resources and facilitate the creation of more effective strategies for hunger relief in the Ozarks. She will conduct a community inventory of assets that address hunger and coordinate town hall meetings to discuss the current reality of hunger and its impact on communities OFH serves.
Before acting as the opinion page editor at the News-Leader, Leicht worked for 12 years covering religion and nonprofits.
“It was the best beat anyone could ever hope to cover,” Leicht said. “It is that experience that has led me to Ozarks Food Harvest. I have watched it grow and become one of the most successful food banks in the country and a significant force for good in our community.”
Leicht began at OFH on Sept. 2. She has worked as an editor and reporter for the News-Leader since 1998, but she began working in journalism in 1978 at the Baxter Bulletin in Mountain Home, Ark., also having worked at the Richland (Mo.) Mirror and the Batesville (Ark.) Guard.
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About Ozarks Food Harvest The Food Bank
Ozarks Food Harvest is the Feeding America food bank for southwest Missouri, serving 200 organizations across 28 Ozarks counties. The Food Bank distributes more than 12 million meals annually to 170,000 unduplicated individuals. OFH celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2013 and received its second consecutive Four-Star Charity Navigator rating the same year. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org, facebook.com/ozarksfoodharvest or twitter.com/ozksfoodharvest.